Current-motor.



F. T. STARRY.

CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 26, 1912.

Patented July 22, 1913.

2 BEETS-SHEET 1.

F. T. STARRY.

CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLIOA'IION FILED AUG. 26, 1912.

1,068,283. Patented July 22, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wirbmeooeo Mo 4 3% W;

FRANK T. STARRY, 0F BLUESLIIDE, WASHINGTON.

CURRENT-MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 26, 1912.

Patented July 2%, 1913.

Serial No. 717,141.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK T. Smear, a citizen of the United tltates,residing at Blueslide, in the county 01 lend Oreille, State or" llashington, have invented certain no" and useful Improvements inCurrenttors: and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has special reference to novel and useful improvements incurrent motors and the object of the invention is to provide a device ofthis character for etliciently deriving power from a running stream andespecially adapted for the operation of a pump.

The essential object of the invention is the provision of a novel anddurable motor construction having means for controlling the movements ofa pair of intermittently rotatable paddles or blades and fortransmitting oscillatory movement of a support for the paddles toreciprocable movement for operating a pump or other machinery.

With the above and otherobjects in view, the invention. consists ofcertain combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinaftermore fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in. which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved current motor as mounted in abody of water with the paddles in position when the water is forcing onepaddle and the other paddle is in a position previous to its release.Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing one paddle at the end of its strokeand the other paddle returning to an operative position. hi 3 is an endelevation of the motor with the parts in position as shown in Fig. 1.Fig. t is a side elevation of my improved current motor with one side ofthe frame removed. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 ofFig. 1. Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6-43 of 1.Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one of the paddles. Fig. 8 is afrag mentary side elevation enlarged and with one of the paddlesremoved.

As illustrated, my improved current motor embodies a float in the formof a rectangular frame 10 having a central connecting member 11 formedof spaced upper and lower members producing a support for the workingparts of the motor. The float is suitably anchored by a chain or otherflexible member 12 so as to freely move up and down with the tide andwave and so that the cent 'al supporting member 11 will extend in adirection of the low of the water.

Longitudinally mounted between the upper and lower members of thesupport 11 is a bearing member 12, the same extending beneath a recess13 formed transversely in the lower face of the upper member ot the barso as to pivotally support a reciprocae ing limiting member 1atransversely pivoted through the support on a vertical pivot 15. Thelimiting member 1 1-. is provided with a plurality of openings 16 oneither side of the support for adjustment of the strokes oi. the paddleswhile the free ends and forward edges thereof are beveled as shown at 17to permit escapement of the paddles more freely at the limits of theiroperative strokes. Also pivoted on a vertical pivot pin 18 beyond therecess 13 and between the spaced members of the supporting bar is atransverse bearing 19 which carries a paddleshatt 20, the ends of whichstationary shaft are extended beyond the ends of the bearing for theretention of rotatable paddles or blades 21 thereon. The bottom face offthe bearing 19 is provided with a wear plate 21 which increases the litethereof and insures of tree pivotal movement of the bearing, while theends of the latter member are connected to the protruding portions ofthe limiting bar by links 22 having hooks at their free ends engageablewith either of the plurality of openings 16. so that when the links aremoved outwardly the strokes of the paddles are correspondingly shortenedor vice versa. Each oi the paddles 21 comprises a pair of face membersconnected by end cleats 2t which are reinforced with hearing plates 25for rotatably mounting the paddles on the shaft and secured to oppositefaces of the paddles as well. as on opposite sides of the shaft areplates 26, the ends of which project beyond the inner cleats and formstop means for preventing rotation of the paddles on their operativestrokes. mentioned action is made po. :ible through the medium of pawls2'? pivoted at their inner ends to the sup iorting member 11 and havingtheir outer ends beveled in a down stream direction or toward the bar14. The outer ends of the pawls engage between limiting pins 27 whichare carried by the shaft lllhis last bearing near its free ends andproject upwardly therefrom to limit the movements of the pawls duringthe opposite movement of the shaft ends and paddles while the pawls aresupported on enlargements 28 around which the projecting portions of theplates 26 travel whereby the pawls will serve to prevent rotation of thepaddles to inoperative positions until the ends of the shaft have fullytraversed the arcuate paths due to the pivotal action of the shaft andits bearing member on the vertical pivot 18. During this operation ofone paddle, the limiting member 14 will also be shifted so that theinner cleat of the paddle on its operative stroke will overlie thelimiting member due to the disengagement of the projec tion of the plateof the paddles from the pawl at that side of the supporting member andthe inner cleat of the other paddle will clear the opposite extremity ofthe limiting member to permit free rotation of the paddle to anoperative position.

From the above it will be seen that while one of the blades is movingdown stream on its operative stroke, the other blade or paddle is movingup stream and in order to hold it in an inoperative position and toguide it to an operative position when the other paddle has finished itsoperative stroke, a frame embodying a pair of outwardly and upwardlydiverging arms 29 is provided, the same being centrally secured to thesupporting bar and having resilient portions or free extremities 30which are engaged by the edges of the paddles so that the latter willslide down the same and be freed to move to an operative position whenthe other paddle has moved to an inoperative position.

In order to transmit motion from the movement of the shaft, a connectingrod or plunger 31 is pivotally secured to the bearing member at eachside of the support and operates in a guide 32 to operate suitablemachines carried on the support or float, such as a pump 33 having adouble ratchet gear 34 operated by the connecting rods to convertreciprocating motion of the latter into rotary motion of the pump. Aflexible pipe 35 leads from the pump to a pipe 36 so that the float mayhave free movement in the water. Thus, it will be evident that only thelower bar will be imnierged in the water and the working parts willtherefore not be subject to the resistance which would otherwise becaused and an increased amount of working power is therefore derived bythe operation of the paddles for the pumping of water or the like.

I claim:

1. A current motor comprising means supported to swing horizontally,paddles rotatable near the ends of said means and adapted to rotateindependently and alternately, means for holding said paddles againstrotation on their inoperative strokes and pivoted means operated bymovement of the swinging means to hold the paddles against rotation ontheir operative strokes while the alternate paddle is being released.

2. The combination with a float having a supporting member formed ofspaced bars and a bearing member pivoted between the same; of a shaftcarried by said bearing and extending through opposite sides thereof forswinging movement above a body of flowing water, blades rotatable on theshaft beyond the bearing member, pawls pivoted on the supporting member,means on the bearing member for limiting the opposite movements of thepawls and shifting the latter during the swinging of the shaft and bearing member, projections extending from each blade on opposite sides ofthe shaf to engage a pawl and hold a blade in an operative position inits movement with the stream, connecting rods pivoted to the bearingmember to be reciprocated oppositely on swinging of the latter and arotary mechanism receiving motion from said rods.

3. A current motor comprising a float forming a support, flexible meansfor anchoring the float whereby the latter may freely move up and downwith the tide and waves, an oscillatory member carried by the float, alimiting bar pivoted to the float, links connected to the oscillatorymember and adjustably connected to the limiting member whereby thelatter will move with the oscillatory member, rotatable paddles carriedby the oscillatory member to intermittently rotate during the movementof the latter, said bar holding each paddle against rotation on itsinoperative stroke and resilient means retaining each paddle againstmovement until it has completed its inoperative stroke and the otherpaddle has completed its operative stroke.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK T. STARR-Y. lVitnesses FRANK SNELLING, A. V. BEACHLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

